UK Financial Sanctions Enforcement – New Powers and Tougher Sentences

The UK Government put a package of proposals to Parliament in February to increase both the type and the potential severity of consequences for persons and companies who breach EU financial sanctions. If approved, these changes will be powerful new tools in the hands of the Treasury’s new Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) (see the Dechert update last year on the establishment of OFSI), which can be expected to lead to tougher and more proactive sanctions enforcement in the UK.